Kilo Became Three Weeks Old Before Dissipating

• Kilo weakened to a remnant low as it was moving north toward the Kuril Islands and eastern Hokkaido, Japan.
• The U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued its final advisory on Kilo at 11 p.m. EDT Thursday, September 10.
• September 10 marked the 21st day of Kilo's existence as a tropical cyclone since forming on August 20 south of Hawaii.
• At one point Aug. 29 into Aug. 30, Kilo was one of three Category 4 hurricanes in the Pacific, joined by Jimena and Ignacio.

Kilo was first classified as a depression almost 700 miles south-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, on August 20.

While, thankfully, never getting its convective act together in time to pose a threat to Hawaii, Kilo finally did so roughly one week later well west-southwest of the islands, intensifying to Category 4 strength. 

The remnant low that was once Kilo moved through the western Kuril Islands on September 11.

(MORE: T.S. Etau Leads to Flooding, Landslides)

Kilo traveled over 4,300 statute miles from its genesis point as a depression, from south of Hawaii to near the western Kuri Islands. This is greater than the driving distance between Washington, D.C. and Anchorage.

According to NOAA's Hurricane Research Division, the longest-lived tropical cyclone on record in any basin was Hurricane/Typhoon John, which lasted for 30 days ending early on September 10, 1994.

As you can see in the HRD list, tropical cyclones lasting three weeks or more are quite uncommon and Kilo joined that rare company before dissipating.

Klotzbach also said Tuesday Kilo became the third tropical cyclone to cross the International Dateline this year, breaking the old record for any year set in 1997.

Hawaii in the Rearview Mirror

Despite Kilo's inability to organize last week, the large-scale circulation near Hawaii brought enhanced moisture to the Aloha State, leading to locally heavy rainfall.

Honolulu picked up 4.48 inches of rain from early last Sunday morning (Aug. 23) through early this past Tuesday morning (local time), resulting in some road flooding and road closures on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. Rain rates of 3-4 inches per hour were estimated by radar early Tuesday morning approaching Kauai.

Thunderstorms over the islands produced up to an estimated 10,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes over a 24-hour period from midday last Sunday (Aug. 23) through midday last Monday (Aug. 24), according to the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

Honolulu's 3.53 inches on Aug. 24 was an all-time record for any August day, topping a 2.92-inch deluge from Aug. 4, 2004, and propelled the Hawaiian capital to its wettest month of August, besting that record which had stood since 1888 (4.47 inches). 

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Hurricane Iniki, 1992